Theodor Meron, the president of the Mechanism for the International Criminal Tribunal, has decided that Vujadin Popovic will serve the remainder of his life sentence in Germany. Based on a previous decision issued by President Meron, the accused convicted to life must serve at least 30 years of their sentence before applying for early release

Former commander of the VRS Zvornik Brigade Vinko Pandurevic has been released from the UN Detention Unit, having served approximately three quarters of his sentence. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison for the crimes in Srebrenica

The appellate judgment confirmed Vinko Pandurevic’s 13-year prison sentence for the crimes in Srebrenica. The former commander of the VRS Zvornik Brigade has now served three quarters of his sentence and he filed a motion for early release immediately after the judgment was rendered

After 13 months of deliberations, the Tribunal’s appellate judges have rendered the final judgment in the case against five Republika Srpska military officers. The Trial Chamber found the accused guilty of the crimes in Srebrenica and Zepa in July 1995. This is the first final judgment for genocide

The prosecution urges the appeals judges to find the five Bosnian Serb military officers, Vujadin Popovic, Ljubisa Beara, Drago Nikolic, Radivoje Miletic and Vinko Pandurevic, guilty for additional crimes, and calls for harsher sentences for two of them

Radivoje Miletic’s conviction is based on uncorroborated facts, legal errors and false evidence of General Manojlo Milovanovic, the defense stressed in its oral arguments. In the appeal, the defense has contested all the charges against the former chief of operations in the VRS Main Staff. Miletic was sentenced to 19 years for the crimes in Srebrenica

Before the Appeals Chamber, Vinko Pandurevic's defense argued that the accused couldn’t have done anything to influence the killing of the Srebrenica prisoners. As Pandurevic’s defense noted, Ljubisa Beara and Vujadin Popovic carried out the operation on Ratko Mladic’s orders. The prosecution said in response that Pandurevic could have issued at least ‘one single order’ to investigate the crimes that involved the soldiers subordinated to him